


she might need a lot of lovin' (but she don't need you)

by sirenofodysseus



Series: we'll all keep quiet [4]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, I Don't Even Know, I'm back on more of my bullshit with these three, Jane Gets The Boy in the End, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25515295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirenofodysseus/pseuds/sirenofodysseus
Summary: A few weeks after "and taking best guesses": "There were a million and one reasons why they couldn’t fuck like rabbits—but the moment Jane’s lips touched the nape of his neck, he conveniently forgot every single one of them."
Relationships: Patrick Jane/Luther Wainwright, Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon/Luther Wainwright, Teresa Lisbon/Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon/Walter Mashburn
Series: we'll all keep quiet [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/96971
Kudos: 2





	she might need a lot of lovin' (but she don't need you)

**Author's Note:**

> I AM BACK WITH THIS SERIES. 
> 
> *cough* I love my babies so much, I needed to give Jane/Luther some time alone!

Grimacing and cursing under his breath, Luther yanked open his apartment door at 3:45 in the morning to find Jane standing before him. Dressed down and unsmiling, Jane pushed past Luther and collapsed onto the leather couch. Luther shut the door behind him and turned to glance at Jane in confusion. He hadn’t heard from nor seen the blonde consultant since the “break-in” weeks ago, when Jane (and Teresa) had managed to nearly give him a heart attack from their duel presence in his apartment. So, Jane’s sudden _reappearance_ without Teresa at nearly four in the morning had him on high alert.

“You should eat more,” Jane commented without hesitation and Luther eyed him, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I somehow doubt Lisbon would appreciate knowing you’re wasting away in here.” Luther crossed his arms against his chest.

“I know you didn’t show up at _four in the morning_ to just criticize my lack of appetite or supposedly poor eating habits,” Luther replied. “Because if you did, I’m sure you can find the door.” Rolling his eyes, he sharply turned from Jane and made his way into the kitchen. He ignored Jane’s soft footsteps behind him, only to grimace at the consultant attempted to hug him. “What do you want, Jane?” Luther turned toward him, the small of his back pressed into the kitchen counter.

“I can’t just come here and see you, Luth?”

“You’ve never just _dropped by_ before, especially not without some deliberate reason,” Luther shot back, irritated. “The last time you _stopped_ by, you wanted to ensure I hadn’t attempted to kill myself again.” He grimaced as Jane’s smile dropped. “And please, for the love of God, don’t call me _Luth_. It sounds primeval.” The blonde said nothing for a moment before Luther sighed. He _obviously_ had to be the one to offer a tentative olive branch; otherwise, he’d never get to the _real_ reason behind Jane’s visit. “Are you thirsty?”

“You have tea, don’t you?”

“In the cabinet behind you.” Jane turned without a secondary glance and Luther heaved a second sigh of relief, as the consultant vacated his personal space.

“You call _this_ tea?” Jane finally questioned, disgusted. “It’s essentially watered-down coffee. Prisons have far better selections than _this_ travesty.”

“It’s all I have, so deal,” Luther answered evenly. Thanks to Bertram’s decision to fire him, money was tight—and he was _still_ unemployed, which meant he wasn’t about to waste all his savings on tea for King Jane. Jane opened his mouth, probably to argue, before he made haste to grab the teakettle aside the sink.

“Next time, I’ll bring over the good stuff,” Jane idly commented and as the water ran, Luther scoffed. There’d be no next time and both men knew it. He had kinda screwed up _whatever_ they had between the three of them, when he hadn’t replied to Teresa’s messages for weeks. In his defense, however (and he knew it was a lame defense), nobody had given him the space or time he had asked for. “It’s both calming and tastes far better than _this_ mud-water.” Silence fell between them both, as Luther heated a pot of coffee and Jane brewed his tea. Once they both had their respective beverages, they moved into the living room and sat down together. “This petulant child act does nothing for you, Luther.”

Luther grimaced. “I’m neither acting nor being a petulant child, Jane.”

“Could have fooled me,” Jane replied. Luther narrowed his eyes and instead of offering a response, he sipped at his coffee. “Forgive me. I had no idea I needed a pacifier to keep the _little baby boy_ calm.”

“Watch who you’re calling _little baby boy_ , Jane.”

Jane chuckled. “It’s still better than man-child.”

Luther continued to narrow his eyes. “I won’t ask again, _Jane_ ; why are you actually here?”

Jane eyed him. “Do you know who Walter Mashburn is?”

“Of course.” Who didn’t know Walter Mashburn? He’d been around the CBI long enough to know the eccentric billionaire (and at times, womanizer), but he had never directly met the “handful of a man” as Director Bertram often labeled him. “Please tell me that you didn’t actually come here to discuss Mr. Mashburn.” Luther felt his blood boil at Jane’s lack of answer. It was _just_ like the arrogant son-of-a-bitch to show up on his doorstep, only to talk about _another_ man, after weeks of nothing. He clenched his fists together.

“Of course not,” Jane replied evenly. “I’d never be so irresponsible.” Luther almost thought to call bullshit but remained quiet instead. “However, I feel you should know that Teresa’s been seeing Walter Mashburn.” Luther nearly choked on his coffee. “I assure you that a possible attraction between Walter and I would never happen, as he is all entirely too wrong.”

“ _What?_ ”

“I could see the wheels turning in your head, Luther,” Jane explained.

“Not at that, you idiot,” Luther snapped, although he was secretly relieved that Jane hadn’t fallen for the billionaire’s bag of tricks. “About Teresa.” 

“Ah!” Jane replied. “You reacted as I did, when Grace told me yesterday.” Luther turned to eye Jane, even more confused than before. “And before you say anything, it’s apparently only been a few dates. Teresa’s only having dinner with him to keep Gale at bay.” Luther’s expression darkened. He still had no qualms about the type of man Gale Bertram was (considering the man _had_ fired him, after all), but Lisbon’s decision made no sense to him. Why would the Senior Agent have agreed to such a thing? The CBI wasn’t on the brink of bankruptcy and…Luther paused to clench his fists together. “Funny thing about those government agendas, hm?”

“What did you do?” Luther asked lowly, figuring that _something_ Jane had done had ultimately forced Lisbon’s hand _again_. The last time Jane had forced Lisbon’s hand had been right before Luther had taken the reigns as the head of the CBI; of course, Jane _had_ then accused Gale Bertram of being Red John (something, Luther still thought about from time-to-time). Luther watched Jane throw up his hands. “I know Teresa wouldn’t just agree to be someone’s accessory, unless you had something to do with it.”

“You obviously haven’t realized how much of a workaholic Teresa is then,” Jane explained. “She’d do anything if it meant keeping senior management happy.” Luther watched Jane shake his head. “And contrary to your negative opinion of me, I do not make her life difficult every time I breathe. Is there something wrong with putting people in their places?”

“There is, if you happen to make Teresa’s life continuously difficult,” he pointed out, nonchalantly. Jane shrugged, taking another sip of his tea. “Look at how Bertram treated her, especially after the O’Laughlin incident.” He had read PSU’s notes, prior to taking his position; Jane nor Lisbon had a very favorable view among the bureau, something Luther had attempted to ignore when he had called the both together for the first time. Of course, it was something he had continued to ignore—even after he and Teresa had started going at it, out of an idol curiosity. “You can see how and where I draw my conclusions, Jane.”

“For once,” Jane attempted to reassure him. “I’m actually blameless.” He smiled at Luther, who only grimaced in return. “I truly am worried about her, Luther. Something, I know you can ultimately relate to.” Luther studied Jane for a moment, waiting for some additional information that would force his hand into the situation. Jane’s silence, however, continued his anxiety to skyrocket. Did Jane have a valid reason to be concerned? Bertram had always been an ass, yes, but he had his doubts that Lisbon would _ever_ be the type to whore herself out for favors.

“You think he’d…?”

“No, highly unlikely,” Jane interrupted. “Walter will respect her wishes, as he’s a true gentleman. I know they’ve had intercourse before, however, and Teresa was fine then—if not a little late for work.” Luther somehow doubted Teresa had willingly disclosed to Jane her previous sexual partners out of kindness, but he said nothing further. “Tonight’s the first night she hasn’t been in her apartment.”

“You’re lonely,” Luther pointed out, avoiding Jane’s gaze as he finished his coffee. “You’re missing the _one_ person, who you’ve been sharing a bed with for months.” Luther stood and retreated into the kitchen, calling out, “it’s natural. You’ll be fine though, I promise.” He stood at the sink, focused on washing his mug out, when he felt Jane’s arms snake around his waist again. Luther swallowed painfully. He had been attempting to avoid _just_ this, as Jane’s arms around his waist forced him to think about all the calls and text messages that he had been avoiding for weeks on end; and how _ungrateful_ he was for ignoring them.

“You’re one to talk,” Jane retorted, forcing Luther to roll his eyes.

“I’ve been getting along fine.” Luther twisted himself out of Jane’s grasp. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get back to…”

“To what?” Jane asked him without hesitation. “It’s not as if you have a job or anything to return to.” It was Luther’s turn to side-eye Jane. “You think you’re hiding your loneliness well? Ha! If Teresa saw you, she wouldn’t be happy; you’ve lost about, what?” Jane’s sweeping gaze forced Luther to feel almost self-conscious. So, what if he had lost a few pounds? He didn’t each much to begin with anyway. “Five pounds give or take? You’re also not sleeping well, and I know for a fact that you’ve stopped taking those much-needed antidepressants.” Jane shrugged at Luther’s narrowed glance. “I call them as I see them, Luther; and as I see it, you are a mess.”

Unable to deal with any more of Jane’s snap judgments, Luther finally snapped. “Go to hell already, Jane. You know absolutely nothing about me or my habits and whatever you think, is obviously wrong.” He watched Jane blink slowly, before the man took a step backwards. “I appreciate your concern, Jane; but you have no right to tell me how to live my life.” 

“I do, especially when it’s obvious you aren’t living yours properly,” Jane answered, before he stepped forward to seize Luther’s pajama top in his fingers. “Tell me, Luther. How long has it been since you’ve had a proper night of sleep?” Luther said nothing and Jane shook his head. “You can argue all you want, Luther, but you forget, I know how to read you. Come on.” Jane released his top and turned, only for Luther to stare at him in confusion. “It’s a little after six in the morning and we’re going to make sure, for the first time in weeks, you get a good night of sleep.”

“I…”

“ _No_ is not an answer.”

Even frustrated, Luther couldn’t help the small smile on his lips at Jane’s comment as he followed him into the bedroom.

::::

Nodding at Ron, Luther awkwardly rapped his knuckles against Teresa’s metal doorframe. He had almost decided not to approach her at all, but Jane’s concern still had him flooded with worry. What if someone had extorted her into sleeping with the brunette? His stomach twisted, but immediately calmed as he caught the silhouette of Teresa Lisbon behind her blinds.

“Come in,” he finally heard Teresa’s voice and he pushed open her door, only to find the Senior-Agent-in-Charge behind her computer screen. She didn’t glance up immediately, too focused on whatever the Interim Agent-in-Charge had given her so he decided to help himself to one of her seats. “I don’t have much time today to…” She glanced upwards, only for her eyebrows to disappear into her dark bangs. “Oh. Hi.”

“Is…uh…this a bad time?” After a moment of silence, he watched her shake her head.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Wainwright?”

Luther cringed. “I deserved that.”

“You did,” Lisbon agreed, before she pushed away from her desk. “Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“It’s not really what you can do for me,” Luther explained. “It’s more of what you can do for Jane.” Lisbon tilted her head slightly. “He made a surprise appearance at my apartment this morning. Apparently, you’ve been seeing Walter Mashburn? It’s driving him insane.”

Lisbon blinked at him, grimacing. “Jane would blow everything out of proportion.”

“So you aren’t?”

“I am, but I’m not.”

It was Luther’s turn to tilt his head in confusion. “You either are or you’re not.” Lisbon said nothing for a moment, before she shook her head in reply.

“Jane and I attempted a causal thing,” Lisbon explained. “At first, it was all fine and then, he wanted more.” She continued to grimace. “You remember when _we_ first agreed to do this?” Luther nodded at her question. How could he forget? When Lisbon had approached him, weeks after the Tibbs case, to _just_ talk; he hadn’t been expecting to end up in _his_ bed at three in the morning with Lisbon’s warm mouth, wrapped around his penis. “Somewhere, we _all_ blurred the lines. Walter—Mashburn doesn’t want a relationship.”

“What does he want?”

Lisbon eyed him. “Casual sex.”

Luther sputtered. “ _Casual sex_ with him? He’s a womanizer…”

“Who wants nothing but casual sex,” Lisbon interrupted, and Luther frowned. “And _before_ you judge, he’s nothing but an absolute gentleman.”

“Somehow,” Luther responded coolly. “I doubt that.”

Lisbon continued to eye him, before she crossed her arms against her chest. “I’m going to stop you, _Mr. Wainwright_.” He flinched. “You do _not_ , after weeks of not returning my calls _or_ texts, get to tell me what I can or can’t do. In fact, you’ve _never_ had the right to tell me what I can or can’t do—aside from when you were in charge here.” Her grimaced deepened. “As for Jane, he’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, _fine_ ,” Luther argued, sarcastically. “He seemed alright to me, _especially_ after he managed to break into my apartment, insult my tea collection _and_ cajole me into bed with him so he could sleep.”

Lisbon paused, before she shook her head. “Jane needs to get a hobby.”

“Teresa…”

“Luther,” Lisbon interrupted wearily, uncrossing her arms. “While I _do_ appreciate this impromptu visit and I’m glad you _aren’t_ squandering in self-pity, I have work I need to do. I’m sorry.”

He stood from his offered seat, before he turned to glance down at her. “You deserve better than Walter Mashburn, Teresa.”

She eyed him. “I don’t need a white knight in shining armor, Luther. I’ve got a gun and I am quite capable of handling myself, believe it or not.”

“Be as that may,” Luther answered, softly. “We still care about you. Don’t forget that.”

Luther left without another word.

::::

By the time he’d returned to his apartment, nearly two hours after his discussion with Lisbon, Jane had taken over his kitchen. Instead of dismissing the man, he merely dropped onto the couch and set his feet onto the coffee table.

“No _what are you doing here_?” Jane asked him. “Or _get out of my apartment?_ Why Luther, I’m surprised and proud.”

Luther didn’t glance at him. “I talked to Teresa today.”

“Ah.”

“Do you want to know what she said?”

“Not particularly,” Jane answered, and Luther glanced over his shoulder, only to find the man in his favorite pinstriped apron. He didn’t look too bothered particularly. “She’s stubborn. Something you both have in common.”

Luther rolled his eyes. “You just think you’re hilarious, don’t you?”

Jane joined him on the couch and took his hand. “I can’t change how stubborn you both are. If I could, well, we’d be doing things aside from just sitting.” Luther said nothing to him, even as he considered pulling his hand from Jane’s. “Want to have some fun?”

“Jane,” Luther warned, as Jane pressed his lips against the nape of his neck. “ _Patrick_.” Jane ignored him. “We can’t do this…”

“And why not?”

There were a million and _one_ reasons why they couldn’t fuck like rabbits—but the moment Jane’s lips touched the nape of his neck, he conveniently forgot every single one of them.


End file.
